National energy expert rejoins RIT after directing the National Center for Photovoltaics

Ryne Raffaelle has been appointed vice president for research and associate provost at RIT. He is currently the director of the National Center for Photovoltaics at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo., the federal government’s central research organization for solar energy development.

Raffaelle returns to RIT after serving in a number of different capacities from 2000 to 2009. His many assignments at RIT included an appointment as the first academic director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability. He also served as the director of the NanoPower Research Lab at RIT. At the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado, Raffaelle provided technical vision, strategic leadership, asset stewardship and personnel management for the center. He worked on developing and enhancing technical capabilities relevant to advancing solar energy technologies while delivering world-class quality research and development, testing and validation.

“Ryne Raffaelle is an outstanding educator, researcher and leader with an international reputation,” RIT President Bill Destler says. “Ryne’s vast experiences at both RIT and at the National Renewable Energy Lab lend themselves well to his new appointment.”

When he begins his new role on July 1, Raffaelle will be responsible for advancing the research and creative activities of the university. Raffaelle will work to support and promote the growth of RIT’s sponsored research and scholarship to government agencies, corporations, and/or foundations; develop and grow partnerships with other universities and organizations; and manage an internal investment program aimed at providing seed grants to faculty to grow their research. Additionally, Raffaelle will provide strategic direction for the future of research at RIT. He will lead and manage the Sponsored Research Department, Research Relations Office and Human Subjects Boards, and he will oversee with the provost the executive director for innovation and commercialization.

“It is a tremendous honor to be taking on this new role at RIT,” Raffaelle says. “I am excited to help guide the future of this institution. While RIT remains the most remarkable story in higher education over the past few decades, I truly believe the best is yet to come.”

Raffaelle replaces Don Boyd, vice president of research, who is retiring June 30.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to congratulate Donald Boyd on his retirement at the end of June,” Destler says. “Under Don’s direction, he has grown RIT’s research component from a small smattering of projects spread widely across RIT to what it has become today. He has worked hard at growing our programs and has had much success.”

About RIT: Rochester Institute of Technology is internationally recognized for academic leadership in computing, engineering, imaging technology, sustainability, and fine and applied arts, in addition to unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. RIT enrolls more than 17,000 full- and part-time students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, and its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

For two decades, U.S. News & World Report has ranked RIT among the nation’s leading comprehensive universities. RIT is featured in The Princeton Review’s 2011 edition of The Best 373 Colleges as well as its Guide to 286 Green Colleges. The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011 includes RIT among more than 300 of the country’s most interesting colleges and universities.